Rio Origins: Cody(Shade)
by Cybroid
Summary: This is the story of a cursed bird. A monster becoming a hero. His normal life changing forever. And how he came to be the Shade. Origins story to an OC of Alex The Owl's Super Rio saga Rated T for violence
1. The Storm Of Devastation

_For years, I have been living in the shadows. Away from a social life, full of relationships and friendships. I always kept to myself, keeping everything inside. Even sometimes ,y own voice. Everything I do, I am afraid of doing. Because, at any time, he comes out. And he will kill everyone. But you probably don't care about the now. You must be wondering how he came upon me. How I came by this...this curse. Well, I shall tell then. But beware, it is a dark story. Full of death, destruction and anarchy._

* * *

I woke up on a warm summer morning in my little tree. Looking out from the entrance, I was blinded for a second by the sunlight, beaming right into my eyes. Putting a wing up quickly above my eyes, I managed to finally see the landscape. I lived in a mountainous region covered by lush green forests. The sight made my heart warm up, and then I began to do some morning stretches, leaning from side to side as I tried to reach my talons. By the time I was done, I was ready for the day.

Looking over to my companion, I found that she was still asleep in her bed. Of course, this was the usual thing I woke up to. And it was my job to wake her up. With one quick leap, I landed on the soft mattress of my human companion's bed and strolled to her side. Only her head and everything else above her shoulders were visible. Her skin was a light tan, and she had wavy dark brown hair, the rest of her body under the covers. She slept so soundly, her quiet breaths leaving her mouth in small wisps of air. That only made it more fun to wake her up. And I had the perfect plan to do it. It was one of the most devious, best plans I had ever thought of doing.

Quietly, I perched myself onto her shoulder, being observant of my talons to make sure that they did not dig into her pink pyjama shirt. Then slowly, I craned my head towards her small ear, and opened my beak before letting out one of my loudest squawks. She was up in an instant. The one thing I didn't count on was how fast she would rise up, and that mistake caused me pain. I was sent flying into the wall across from her bead and ended up sprawled against it, my head against the ground while my body was leaned against the wall upside down.

"Cody! Are you okay?!" she asked, her voice full of concern. I felt myself scooped up into her arms, followed her radiating warmth. Like a child to a mother, I nuzzled up against her, and I could hear her chuckle to herself. "Let's go get some breakfast." The one word had me shooting from her arms. If there was one thing I loved in the morning, it was breakfast.

I felt nourished by the sweetness of the strawberries I had, and laid back on the counter with my wing on my stomach.

"Oh, Cody! You silly bird, you!" She laughed at my pose, and I decided to act like I was a model to earn more laughs. She could barely hold herself up, and was laughing so hard she had tears. "Okay! Stop, please!" I obliged and glided from the counter to land on the brown couch. For the next hour, I watched a movie while she worked on the computer. This was basically the daily routine. Most of my life was spent inside. But today was going to be different. "Cody!" she called out to me. I beat my wings and flew to her to perch on her outstretched arm. Today, she was going to let me fly around outside. Give me a bit of freedom.

We stood out on the back veranda. I readied myself, and then took off into the air. It felt great to fly in open air. I had done it a few times before, and she trusted me because I always returned before sunset. Today, I decided to visit the forest. Flying through the trees, I took in the smells and the view. Little did I know was that things were about to get worse.

* * *

Sometime later, a big storm hit. I was left in the open, and darted for the trees to take cover. Unfortunately, the wind had other ideas. It carried me off, making me twirl in the air. I was so dizzy I didn't know which way was up and which was down. And I was scared. My heart thumped hard in my chest, it felt like it would burst out. I tried to cry out for help, but obviously no one was around. Eventually I was carried into the forest, and I was then released from the raging winds. I flew as fast as I could, heading for home. The problem was that I didn't know. I stopped, looking around to get my bearings. Then I felt a stabbing pain and found a small branch in my back. I could no longer fly, and yet I was still in the air. Once again, I was swept away. And as I approached that large tree trunk, my life flashed before my eyes. Then there was nothing.

* * *

That's the first part of my OC's origin story. And yes, he's dead. But not for long. You'll see how in the next chapter.


	2. Second Chance

I thought it was over as the tree came crashing down. And if that didn't kill me, then bleeding out from the sharp branch jabbed in my back would have. Either way, I was dead. Yet, for some reason, I didn't feel dead. I could feel the warmth of the air on my skin under my feathers, and a slow soft breeze blowing through them. It smelled like the forest. And this all meant one thing.

It was hard at first, but after some effort my eye managed to peek open. My vision was blurred, though I could still see shapes. Large green shapes, reaching to the sky. I closed my eye, then opened it again, this time fully. As the light entered my eye, my vision began to clear. I soon found myself in the forest. I was laying on my back. And I knew that the storm had happened. It was a mess everywhere I looked. But the thing I could not understand was that I felt no pain. There was no branch in my back, or no tree crushing me. Instead, I was only amongst leaves and sticks.

When I tried, I couldn't lean my upper body up. I did so after several attempts, ending in falling back on the ground, by pushing up on my wings. Then I stood up on my talons, steadying myself against a nearby tree as my legs suddenly felt like jelly. After some practicing to get used to it again, I started walking around to get the feel back. Once I was sure, I tried to take off. That was something I couldn't do.

"Have I lost the ability to fly?" I thought to myself. Shaking off the dreaded feeling of never flying again, I began my trek along the forest floor. It was scary the whole way, but I had to get back. My companion would know what to do. She would be so worried about me. I wondered if she was walking around now, searching for me. At least, that's what I hoped. But I had to face the reality of the present. I was lost in an unfamiliar world with dangers luring all around. From spiders to snakes, and possibly even a dingo. All of which would kill me and eat me, either instantly or other time. I was startled by a rustling nearby, and felt the urge to run. But my legs didn't respond.

"H-hello? I know martial arts" I stated threateningly, holding my wings up in a karate chop action. Then I realized how stupid I must have seemed to whoever, or whatever, was watching. I suddenly felt embarrassed forgetting the fact that my death could come at any moment. While I was thinking about how stupid I must have looked, I noticed a gleam in the undergrowth. Looking closely, I saw something that sent my running. A pair of hungry eyes.

I didn't look back, not even a single glance, but I could hear it giving chase to me. It must have been right on my tail. It was as if fate wanted me dead, because I tripped on a root that I hadn't seen and ended up on my back to see what would bring death upon me. A dingo prowled nearby, and it had begun circling me, licking it's lips as it stared at me with hungry eyes. At any moment, it would pounce. And as it did, I froze in fear. It pushed off from it's rear legs, and was only a second away when I blacked out.

* * *

I wasn't sure how long it was, but I was surprised to find out that I was still alive. But I was also confused by that fact because the last I remembered was that the dingo that laid next to me had pounced...

I slid away by pushing my wings against the ground till I was at a safe distance. The predator lay on it's side with it's back to me. It was odd, because it's chest wasn't moving. So either it was fast asleep or...or it was dead. Slowly, I crept halfway over and using my talon, I flung a small stick at it. It bounced off, and it made no reaction to it. Not even a flinch. I had to be sure, so I carefully sneaked around to it's front, and the sight made me gag.

Dried blood clung to the red fur around it's neck, all around a deep cut sliced into it's neck. I saw no other tracks around, so that left me even more confused. The sight instilled more fear into me, and I stumbled backwards, cautious that the killer may be somewhere nearby. It wasn't long before I went into a full sprint again. I must have either run very far, or I had woken close to a city, since right below was a city. Since I didn't know my location, I wasn't sure which one it was. However, before leaving I decided to test out my wings. And it seemed that I was finally lucky.

Once I was sure, I unfolded my wings and took a leap off the cliff and went into a small dive then stretched out my wings, flying towards the city. The flight went for a minute, and I made it to the outskirts of the city. On my way, I saw that the city was Cairns, so I wasn't too from home. All I had to do was find the right direction.

"Hey Ozzie! Look what I found over 'ere!" Turning to find the owner of the male voice, I found nothing. Though I did see shadows, so I looked up to find a magpie. Another one flew in after and followed it's index wing. His eyes bulged with surprise.

"What's ya got there, mate? A lost bird, maybe? What you think Jack?" the second, Ozzie, asked his partner. The other magpie shrugged.

"Dunno. How bout we go ask? Maybe we can _help_ him" Jack suggested, snickering at the end. I didn't know why, but it sent a chill up my spine. They drifted down, their wings beating slowly. "Ello dere, mate! You new around here?"

"Y-yeah, I guess you could say that." Jack snickered again and mumbled something.

"Look, you seem like a nice bloke, so we'll give you a head start." I raised an eye ridge, then it hit me. I hat talked to a few other wild birds, and they had talked about how some were.. _crazy._ By crazy, I mean sadistic, evil killing machines. And they do it for fun. Once again, my instinct screamed out to me and I shot off. "Well that was fast" one of them muttered in surprise.

I flew through the alleys, dodging clothes lines and fences. But soon, I found myself cornered. Turning back, I saw that they had caught up quickly.

"You're a fast one, mate. This should be fun." I could see now that there claws were extremely sharp, and when one of them came flying talons, I braced and closed my eyes. And heard a shriek of terror. And I blacked out again.

* * *

 **That's another chapter for you guys. Hope you are enjoying so far, so see you all next time :)**


	3. Murder

The first thing I did after awaking from the blackout was rub my pounding head. I still couldn't get the dream out of my head. I was facing off against those magpies, and I thought I was going to die. Then, it all changed when _I_ was the one doing the killing. My talons had ripped at their chests and torn at their faces and necks. All the blood..and the screaming. And the most horrible thing was that in the background, there was a cruel laughter. And that laughter had come from me. The very memory of it sent chills down my spine, and I told myself that it had all been just a dream. Even as I glanced over at the two black and white masses of feathers...

My heart raced as I recognized what they were. They had been the magpies, but now they were just a bloody mess. There were feathers strewn all around the place. I slowly slid my talons across the ground towards them, and my wing moved to my beak in horror as I stared back at the eyeless sockets on one of their faces, it's beak hanging open with claw marks dug into it. I almost puked by the time I reached the chest. It's black feathers did nothing to hide the blood, or the ribs. I tried desperately to avert my gaze, but my eyes were glued to the horrific sight. There was nothing I could do as they moved down. The magpie's wings were scratched so much that the whole wing was almost featherless.

Before I could move on to the next, I regained control and spun away from the scene before wandering off, my eyes still staring at the ground and my bloodied talons and a wing to my belly. The vision was still very clear in my head, and it was there to stay, burned into my mind. I was certainly surprised I hadn't let out the entire contents of my stomach all over the ground. What was there was sickening, but that's not what put me off. It was the fact that _I_ had done that, and was laughing while I had done it. My wings raised in front of my vision and they began shaking uncontrollably.

"W..what have I done?" Was all that came out before I ran. Tears stung my eyes, and my throat soon felt dry from the screams I was letting out. I tried to escape it, but I couldn't. Because what I wanted to escape was stuck with me. I had to leave this place. I had to get help. That's when Caitlin came to my mind. She would know what to do. She would keep me safe, just as she always has. But after what I have done, would she keep me?

 _"You can't run."_ I skidded to a halt, my eyes darting from side to side to find the source of the voice. had I just imagined it, or was someone hiding in the shadows. _"The answer is neither, idiot. It's me, your new buddy."_ I tried to shake it out, and when it went silent, I continued on with a confused expression. It changed when it came again. _"Are you even listening?"_

"Where are you?!" I shouted, not knowing that he wasn't near me. "Show yourself!"

 _"That's kinda impossible, physically. But mentally, I can do. You sure, though?"_

"Show yourself, you coward!" The voice let out an exasperated sigh, then answered my demands.

 _"Very well. But you asked for it."_ Immediately after he finished, a sharp pain filled the space between my eyes, and I tried to scream in pain, but nothing came out. I fell back, and once again, I was out.

* * *

This time, it was different. I was in complete darkness, floating in the middle of it. I could only see myself, which was odd since normally in a dark area, I wouldn't be able to. That's whenI knew that I wasn't in reality. But then, where was I?

 _"You're in your mind. Why, don't ya recognize it?"_ The voice chuckled amusingly. But with it, it carried a chill that ran down my spine.

"Why have you brought me here?" I asked, trying my best to stay strong and hold my fear back.

 _"You asked me to. Isn't this what you wanted?"_ I growled in frustration. This voice seemed to be taunting me, and I didn't like one bit of it. If I could have moved, I would be shaking my wing at it. Though that wasn't the case, so all I could do was talk. Still, I could swear at it. That wasn't my style, though, so I held it back.

"That isn't what I asked. I asked for you to show yourself!" I shouted back angrily.

 _" And here I am."_ I looked around, only seeing darkness. Darkness...My eyes widened with understanding. The thing I was talking to, it was everywhere. _"Oh, you meant something easier. Why didn't you make that clearer? Guess we should work on that."_ The darkness suddenly slipped away into white. Except for one, single blotch. About my size. Wait, no. It was my size. In every way, it looked like me, minus the pitch black feathers and glowing, purple eyes. _"This better?" It_ gestured to himself, and I nodded without thinking. It grinned in satisfaction. _"Good. Now, how about we get ourselves introduced. You go first."_

"Who are you?" I snapped. It threw it's wings into the air with his head.

 _"And straight to the questions! Why do I even bother?"_ I tapped my talon against the ground, and looked down surprised when I realized that I was moving. I hadn't even known I could move now. Maybe now, I could strangle this thing and get out of here. However, it was way ahead of me. I never had time to duck away when it slammed into me and pinned me down. It stared down with it's purple eyes, and the first thing visible in them was pure evil. _"I wouldn't if I were you"_ it hissed in a warning tone. I felt another chill down my spine as it moved a talon just below my beak, and I held back a gulp, fearing any movement would be my end. _"We're in this together. You want out, go right ahead. But it won't be so easy."_ As quickly at it happened, it went back to his previous position, suddenly relaxed. I was quite the opposite, and had to help myself up.

"You didn't answer my question." it cocked a brow in admiration and gave me a sideways glance. It stayed silent for a time, studying me, then answered.

 _"That's up to you."_ My own brow arched in confusion. What was with this thing and it's confusing talk?

"What do you mean?" I countered, trying to relax myself and being cautious in case a sudden outburst would lead to another incident.

 _"Well, whoever you are, I am. Unless you have a name for me."_ Now it made sense, even though it normally wouldn't. But after everything that has happened, it was hard not to believe. According to it, it was part of me. And I was part of it. We were one of the same. Hesitantly, I chose my answer.

"Cody."

 _"Okay. I would have gone with a better name, but that's fine. Now, let's wake you up so you can get back to Caitlin."_ The mention of her name wasn't what froze me. It was that the name had come from that thing's mouth. I wanted to ask how it knew, but it answered before I could. _"One in the same, remember. And that includes memories. So see ya, mate. Call me."_ That was the last it said when the world went dark once more.

* * *

It filled with light once more, and I found myself exactly where I had passed out. I thought it might have been a dream, until I heard that annoying voice.

 _"It ain't a dream. And don't think of me like that. It hurts my feelings, or at least what I have left of them. Now get going, before we run into more trouble."_ I hated to admit it, but the voice was right. If we were caught around here, and with the dry blood on my talons, my life would be over. I had to leave this area as quickly as I could. So without anymore pause, I lifted into the air with a hard push of my wings and was flying off, in a direction that would take me far, far away from the city, and towards the only place I thought i would be safe.

 _Home._ If only I knew what awaited me there.

* * *

 **Quite a sad beginning. But this ain't anywhere close to how it's going to get later. Hp=ope you enjoy this story so far, and I'll see you all next time :)**


	4. Interrogation

I gaped in horror and despair, my eyes glowing orange from the raging fires that engulfed my home. And with it, Caitlin. I knew she was still there because she never left without her car, and the door was closed. Still, I could only hope she made it out another way. But someone had to open their big, nonexistent mouth.

 _"You know, we should be roasting marshmallows. It'd be a waste of this fire"_ the other entity reasoned. It really started to anger me then.

"Just shut up!" I shouted over my shoulder as if it was there, then swiveled my head back to the house. I had an idea, and it would most likely end bad. But before I could, a strong force held me back, like an invisible hand.

 _"I wouldn't if I were you, unless you want to be cooked like her. You'll end up being a thanksgiving turkey."_ It laughed at his own joke, and broke his hold. I stepped forward, but stopped and took the time to think. Maybe the annoying voice in my mind was right. _"That's right. You listen to me."_ I frowned, though listened. Even though it hurt to leave, it was the right thing to do. She wouldn't want me to die trying to find her, but live on with my life.

I turned myself away from the burning ruin and spread my wings to take off. I didn't know where to go, and the annoying voice went on for the whole trip. It made no sense, until one line it mentioned.

 _"You know, if I were you, I'd hunt down the one responsible."_ In an instant, I stopped myself in mid-flight and hovered.

"What did you say?" The voice was silent for a moment. "Answer me!"

 _"Fine...I said that if I were you, I'd hunt down the one responsible. I mean, you have powers now!"_ I understood what he meant, but I also knew that I wasn't that kind of guy. Never could I be a hero. _"Come on. You can do it. And I have an idea of where to get some information."_ I thought on it some more. It seemed to be a very convincing offer, and so far he hadn't led me astray. Except for the murders he committed, but those had been in self defense. So I went with it...for now.

"Okay then. What is this idea of yours?" I questioned, holding back the anger. I would decide whether to go along after his plan.

 _"We go back to the city. No doubt there would be some sad criminal who knows something. And if he gives us trouble, let me handle him. Deal?"_ I hesitantly nodded, intrigued by the plan so far. It was better than flying off into the sunset, not knowing where I would end up. And if I could find out who did this to my home, I would feel better. But I would not kill him. I was not like that, so I had to watch this other side of me. Hopefully, I could find a way to hold him back.

The flight to the city was short, mostly because I remembered the way I went. Though this time, I avoided the area I was before. Instead I went to an area on the other side of the city, but still at a place where it seemed busy. I decided to go see the type of birds that would know anything, but most likely forgot, so it may have been a bad choice at the time. Pigeons. They were very forgetful, and sometimes you would think that they forgot how to use their brains, or what they have of them. I found five huddled in a group on the tip of a tower's roof, and I began my descent.

"Hello!" I called over. They kept on chatting away to each other. Even when I came up behind one of them, in all of the other's sights, they still took no notice. "Hello?" They kept on going, so I was about to resort to yelling, but someone did that for me. "Idiots! Pay attention!" I was especially surprised, because that wasn't my voice. Somehow, the creature inside had taken control for a split second. They stared at me in fear, then their expressions changed to show how much they were annoyed.

"Can't you see we are talking here?" one of them rudely indicated to me. It seemed that the only thing they never forgot was how to be idiots.

"Sorry, but I need some information. Please, can you help me?" I asked politely. Another scoffed, and the first turned his head to the other four.

"Why should we help you?" the first argued.

"Yeah. Stranger danger!" A third pigeon piped up. The fourth glared at the third and slapped a wing against the back of his head, and the fifth kept silent.

"I am need of your help...I lost a friend of mine recently." A few of their faces changed to sympathy, except for the first and fourth pigeon. The fifth's was the most grim. The first waved his wing at me, attempting to shoo me away. So it seemed that my guilt trip had not worked on him. But the second's changed almost straight away, and he rolled his eyes in with a mocking smile.

"Scram! We don't want no trouble around here!"

"Yeah! No trouble!" That earned the third another whack on the head. He murmured something to himself as he rubbed it. And now I had some idea on how these guys were. The first was the leader, but wasn't the biggest. If I made a move against him, the fifth, being the biggest, might be his bodyguard. The third was the one who hung around for protection, and was the scrawniest. The 'puppy of the big dogs', in a way. The fourth was the second-in-command, and the second was the taunting type. The perfect gang stereotype.

 _"Take the leader on"_ my other half insisted on. I was about to speak, but then thought of something. Maybe I could talk to it, but not with my beak. Instead, I used my head.

 _"No. I need information. I'm not here to hurt them."_ The entity chortled sadistically.

 _"Who said we would hurt them?"_ I frowned, knowing what he meant.

 _"Killing counts as hurting."_ It grumbled something back, and ended the thought conversation, leaving me to return to that 'gang' of pigeons. "I won't be giving you trouble. All I want is some information on who burned down my house." If the news of losing a friend didn't affect them, this definitely brought out their maximum shock. Even the leader flinched slightly. But it was for all the wrong reasons.

"Your house was the one burned down?" the third pigeon asked. This time, the leader punched him in the face.

"Don't listen to him!" But it was too late for that. What the unconscious pigeon had said had gained my attention, and they were holding back. "We don't know anything!" Easily, I could see he was in denial. There was only one way to do this then.

 _"Fine. But no killing."_ I heard a snicker in my head, and then felt the change begin to occur. Though something was different this time. This time, I hadn't blacked out. But I don't think the entity had noticed, or he was responsible for it, forcing me to watch whatever damage he could cause. Now the pigeon's faces were lined with fear.

"Now...who's first?" it asked. It clasped it's feathers together like fingers and pretended to crack them, and then proceeded to crack his neck and legs. It wasn't long before he was ready for a fight. And the pigeons were freaking out, a couple of them actually pooping themselves. "Fine. I pick _you_ " it hissed, looking at the biggest of them. The challenged gladly approached and readied himself for a fight. The pigeon was the first to attack, and that was a big mistake. His wing was caught by mine in the air, then flipped behind his back with one quick movement. The wrong way around. There was a loud snap, but my body didn't flinch. If I was in control, I would be cringing all over. Instead, the other side of me pulled it further around.

"Stop!" the leader pleaded. I only snickered.

"Will you help me now? Or do I need to break more bones?" The leader reluctantly nodded, and my wings unclasped around their victim. The pigeon fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Just like that, I was back to normal.

"It was earlier today. We saw some birds, like you. Except they were red, with green and yellow." I created an image in my mind, and figured what they meant.

 _"Sounds like Scarlet Macaws. But what are they doing here? They live in Brazil."_

 _"I have a feeling that we are about to go for a long flight."_ I sighed, and nodded to myself. Though the pigeons thought I nodded to them. _"Darn. Well, it's a good thing I know a quick way. After you are done with these delinquents, go to the closest airport."_ I didn't need to ask, because I had some idea on what he meant.

"Thank you for your time." And with that, I left the frightened gang behind.

* * *

"So how are we going to fly on a plane? I doubt they would just let us into the cabins. And without a human with us, we won't be able to get into the cargo hold."

 _"Who said anything about letting them see us?"_ We approached the plane, and once again I was no longer in control. Then, we went into someone's shadow. I didn't understand how, but I had that question answered for me before I could ask it. _"I can enter other's shadows. And if they close to our side, I can possess them via their shadow. Should have mentioned that earlier, shouldn't I?"_

 _"It would have been nice"_ I thought back. _"And I'm sure it will be helpful later."_ A moment later, we were on board.

 _"Next stop, Brazil!"_

* * *

 **And now the journey begins. Hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you all in the next chapter :)**


	5. Finding Answers

The flight had gone on for several hours. Several long, tiring hours. Even if you are in...well, wherever I went when my other form took over, time went at the same pace. Maybe even slower. All I knew about it was that it was really dark, and lonely. The only thing that changed all this was the blurred image before me, showing the outside world so I could see everything that transpired near my body in reality. It was all I could do was watch it, since I didn't know if I could sleep in this place because I hadn't even tried, and I doubted I could. My mind was full of questions, with no answers for any. But if I did find an answer, I was afraid that either I wouldn't like it, or I would only end up with more questions.

Suddenly the world began to come brighter, and I could hear voices from somewhere. It wasn't long before my surroundings changed to slowly to become the world I knew. We were just coming off the plane, and as promised, I would take control once we did.

 _"See? I can keep promises just like any normal being."_ He seemed to be very determined to gain my trust.

 _"But that's the thing"_ I began to think back. _"You aren't some normal being. I don't even know what you are. And anyway, I'm in charge here. So you had to give me control back."_

 _"I wouldn't say you were in control. Think of yourself as a puppet who can control himself, but on stage he is controlled by another for maximum performance."_ I didn't like how he spoke towards me. And calling me a puppet made me feel small and insignificant. My wingtips clenched to make fists, and my beak gritted. _"No reason to get frustrated. I'm just putting it into terms you would understand...you do understand puppets, right?"_ I ignored him and took flight. First, I needed to get somewhere to get information. I doubted those macaws would have gone all that long distance by themselves. They would have ridden something over the ocean, such as a boat or plane. But where does one get such information? With people, that would have been easy. Though it was a different with birds that went alone. They would have most likely been stowaways on whatever transport they used.

"Where would I go?" I whispered to myself. Obviously, the dark creature inside overheard. It was hard to keep secrets from it, especially when it's in my brain where all my secrets are stored.

 _"Do you always have to talk to yourself? Seriously, it's bad enough hearing every one of your thoughts. And by some of them, I think you would know. Then again, you can't know every one of your thoughts back here."_ At first, I was confused. Then it came to me, no doubt with some help from it.

"Of course! Someone around here has to know!" So I began my search, not bothering to thank the thing inside.

It may have taken a while, but I soon found what I was looking for. Two birds flew above the city, a canary and a red cardinal. From a distance, I followed them. But something unexpected happened, as they suddenly sped up, and I soon lost them. Though I did have something to thank them for. Right below, I spotted a building. And heading into it was a small group of birds, unusually holding guns..."Wait, what?! Guns! How the hell do birds have guns and what use do they have with them?!"

 _"I thought you would have expected it. Isn't your life crazy enough already?"_ the thing stated, and it was right. How did I not expect such a thing to exist. Plenty of odd things have happened in this world, so why not this? I perched myself onto a taller building, with only my head over the edge.

 _"Do you have a plan?"_ I asked, keeping in mind not too speak aloud from now on. From the looks of things from here, they meant bad news if they saw me.

 _"Of course I do. Let me take over, and I'll-"_

 _"No! Just tell me it, and I'll think it over."_ I waited, and my talon began tapping impatiently. If that thing had control over my body, I was afraid it would end up massacring all of them. With no questions, and no answers, and that's not what I wanted.

 _"Fine...Since what you want is no killing, or maiming, or injuring, then I'll just take one over."_ I knew what he meant, but how would that help? Use their body to question another? Perhaps he would explain later, because that was the only plan we could think of. My consciousness slipped away, and soon I found myself in the bright world of my mind. Our body went to it's control, and the world went dark around me, save for the portal. I watched as we closed in on the closest, using the shadows as our cover, then we took our victim. The sight moved to the guard's sight and for a second, he flinched. He soon stopped, and went to a stand still.

 _"What the-"_ I turned to find that my mind had been invaded by the previous owner of our new vessel. His stare became fixed on me, and his eyes formed a glare, filled with both fear and anger, and readied his wings for a fight. I held mine up defensively, hopefully showing I meant no harm. But his eyes moved past me then, and to the window to reality. _"W-what is that?"_

 _"This may sound stupid, but we've taken over your mind."_ In an instant, he was filled with rage and lunged for me. Though somehow I was moved, and he ended up hitting at the empty, dark air. _"I don't want to fight you"_ I told him calmly. I felt a presence beside me, and I glanced to my right to find a pair of purple eyes.

 _"Keep him going. We're almost done."_ I was confused by what he meant, but he left before I could ask.

"Hey man. You alright?" My attention went to the mirror to reality, and I saw that the other guard filled the view.

"Just fine" our vessel replied. And in a blur, the guard was punched out. I couldn't stop myself from shouting into the darkness.

 _"Hey! What did I say about injuring, you idiot!"_ I scolded. It didn't answer back, and went on to drag the unconscious macaw, and picked up his weapon. Now he held two, and took to them quickly. That unnerved me as he examined the weapons. I saw they were handguns, but small in size. Small enough for someone my size to hold.

"This should be fun" it said aloud. "Let's see what we can find." It opened the door, and already we had gained the attention of almost every other guard inside. They all had smaller versions of weapons used by humans, and it made me wonder who made such things.

"Hey there! What are you doing in here?!" One of them yelled at us. Our body grinned, but was hidden right away.

"Need to get something. Is that wrong?" The other guard seemed stunned, and never replied. Instead he pivoted away, staying silent the entire time. We went down a separate path, heading into a secluded area. There was a small desk, with several drawers. Being a curious one, we looked through the files.

Back in the dark world of my mind, the guard's consciousness had gone quiet, muttering to himself here and there. I began to feel sympathy for him. Having another in your mind can feel weird. And when they force your body to do something...dreadful, you are the one to feel the guilt.

 _"I'm sorry. Really, I am. But it won't be for too long, and I promise you will not be harmed"_ I assured him. He didn't seem to pay me any courtesy concerning me.

 _"Why should I listen to you?"_ he finally replied. His tone carried much anger and hate within it. Even though he didn't show his eyes, I could imagine his hateful glare with ease.

 _"Because unlike my counterpart, I am trustworthy and not one of those who would hurt others."_ Then, he began to listen. He turned slightly so one eye was on me.

 _"I have no reason to trust you. What have you done for me, besides controlling my brain?"_ he asked back. I could have reasoned, but I saw that there was nothing more I could do. So instead, I decided to ignore him completely. Once more, I looked to the window. I found myself looking at a file. On it was several names, but none I recognized.

 _"Not the right one"_ I said. It was dropped back in, and another was taken out. This time, it had something oddly familiar on the front. My name. We would have seen what was inside if it wasn't for some guard sticking his beak in where he shouldn't have.

"That is not for you! Put it down!" We turned slowly to find a lone guard, his weapon aimed right for our back. "I said put it down!" A grin appeared across our face, and our right wing raised, holding one of our weapons. "Are you even-" He was cut short by a shot being fired, and when he looked down, he found a red liquid staining his chest plumage.

"You didn't say please" the dark entity said in a mocking tone. The guard fell forward to the ground, and his wing reached forward. It was evident he was going to die, but it didn't care. It fired another round into his head and scoffed. "Hardly a challenge." I could feel the guilt in an instant. The death had been unnecessary, though it still did it. I looked to see our vessel's consciousness gaping in horror, his wings shaking.

 _"You...you monster! How could you?!"_ I wanted to answer, but something was wrong. He began to falter, and his stomach began to leak the very same red liquid. It turned out the the guard had fired a shot after all. Before I could say anything, he disappeared. Looking into the window, I saw we were out of the body. The dead corpse. Once more, the entity appeared beside me.

 _"You weren't supposed to kill anyone."_

 _"It's called improvising. Everyone does it"_ it responded. It didn't seem to care about the two dead guards on the ground, but why would it? It was a heartless creature. We stepped over the corpse carelessly and went off. Now that we were in our original body, I expected that the way out would be hard to reach. When we leaned around the corner, I knew I was right. Though before we could make a move, there was an explosion nearby. The guards moved away, leaving an empty space. It seemed that luck was on our side after all. We slipped through the shadows quietly, and made it through a window into an alley. There, we found three more guards.

"What is that thing?" one of them exclaimed in fear. They all aimed, and prepared to fire. We moved first, and got behind them with speed. With one quick flick of our wing, a neck was wrung around the wrong way.

"Back off, you-" the second was stopped short as we kicked him down and took him as a shield when the third fired, killing his ally in an instant.

"Get away, Shade!" We paused, and the entity spoke.

"Shade. Nice name." The guard opened his mouth, but no words came out. Not even a scream as his own neck snapped. We moved quickly, hearing gunfire back at the building. We were lucky to get out, or otherwise we may have had to deal with someone stronger than them.

* * *

 **That's another chapter. And yes, if you are wondering, part of this chapter is based in the same scene as Alex The Owl's first chapter of his first story. And yes, I did ask permission. So thanks for reading :)**


	6. Meditation

It was an odd thing to find. Well, for me it was. From a human's view, it was hidden from sight. I had almost lost it, if I hadn't noticed a small group of macaws enter it. I had to find somewhere safe, in case those who attacked would follow. I hadn't seen them, but Shade, as it had called itself, had. And it was very descriptive. It had told me that one had a hood over him, and the other had a face mask as well as a hat. It had been lacking with other details, but I was too confused on trying to figure out how it had seen it.

 _"You know I would rather be known as a 'he' now, right?"_ It must have been reading my thoughts at the time, since I constantly referred to it as being a thing. And I didn't know, because it had never cared to mention his preference. At the time, _he_ was beginning to annoy me. I slammed the cup that held my apple juice, but not hard enough to attract attention. Everyone was too busy dancing. I would not drink alcohol, and the juice was the closest thing to it I would actually have.

"No, you didn't" I replied, trying to keep myself cool. "Now please be quiet as I enjoy this beverage of mine." He stopped suddenly, like a window shutting out the wind. But then the window opened again.

 _"You shouldn't blame me for us being stuck together. Enjoy it for as long as you can! That's what I'm doing."_ I rolled my eyes as I lifted the drink to my beak. After taking another sip and putting it down, I spoke again.

"It's kind of hard when you're a homicidal maniac that technically doesn't exist."

 _"I didn't choose the homicidal life! The homicidal life chose me."_ I rolled my eyes again and gulped down another few sips of the drink. My eyes were on watch for any suspicious figures, and so far there were none. _"And for your information, I do exist. I'm not like you, who pretends he does not exist in this embarrassing reality."_ That made me snap.

"Keep quiet!" I shouted at it, but that also brought the attention to everyone else. I kept quiet, and they soon looked away. I mentally scowled at the demon inside, as that was how I thought of him. A creature of darkness. An addition to myself I never wanted. I tended not to believe in such things, but with what I had seen recently, I was beginning to realize that anything was possible. That was the result of being cramped up in a home that was far from society. I recalled all the moments I had with my human friend, the one I saw as my mother, not knowing my face was showing off my emotions. I lifted the cup once more to feel the cold liquid flow down my throat, refreshing my body. But not the soul. Someone caught my attention when I saw a flicker of movement to my right, then it passed by to stop at the other side of the square wooden table _(which was actually a small box)_. A few seconds before, the seat was empty. Now, another avian sat there, looking at his drink.

"You having some problems?" I glared over. One would have known full well that if someone is sitting alone, brooding in a bar, they wished to be left alone. But I did not want to harm the figure, and I was afraid of the thing inside coming out and doing so. Looking the figure over, I saw it was a Kestrel. I had rarely seen them, only a few times on the TV. They were a type of falcon in and were alike to the common falcons, except for certain behaviors. More specifically their hunting behavior, though the memory of what was different slipped my mind. It's eyes were a hazel brown, with a vertical scar across his left eye, almost reaching his beak. His head was a light grey while the rest of his body was a dark chestnut with an amount of dark spots dotting his wings and back.

"What's it matter to you?" I growled, surprising myself with my voice. And this time, it was entirely me. His eyeridge raised at me.

"Just thought I might be friendly to a chap who's obviously taking something pretty hard. And don't bother lying, cause I can tell. I've been there." I barely raised my head from the drink before me. He just kept on smiling, and I felt the urge to wipe off that smug look. That time, I knew it was Shade wanting that.

"And how would you know what I am going through? You don't even know me!" I retorted, my voice slightly raising. No faces turned this time. The kestrel put his own drink to the tip of his beak and drank a quarter down, then lightly placed it back on the table.

"No reason to raise your tone. Just trying to be friendly to a fellow young avian." My glare never strayed, but he did seem to be sincere. Still, one can't be too careful.

"First of all, I'm not that young. I'm at least 16-" I stopped myself there. I really was quite young, but because of my height, I looked much older. Luckily, no one else heard. I must have been thought to be underage, considering I knew about age restrictions in Australia. If only I had known that things were different as a bird, and in a different country. The unwanted guest smirked amusingly, his eyeridge rising again. I heard a snicker in the back of my mind.

"You were saying?" There was a snicker in the back of my mind. I raised my index feather towards him in a scolding way.

"Shut up" I said angrily, keeping my voice low this time. For some reason, it made him chuckle lightly.

"I must say, you are quite the amusing one." He took another swig of his drink in order to calm himself down, and in an instant, he became serious. He changed so quickly, it was kind of scary. "Now, why don't you tell me what is up? Why do you feel down? Perhaps I can help with the darkness inside." I was hesitant at first, but once again, he sounded sincere. What did I have to...

"Wait. What did you say?" I asked.

"What? What do you mean?"

"At the end! You said something about 'the darkness inside'!" I was worried he knew somehow. But he gave a good excuse.

"I was only making a statement. For everyone has a darkness inside. And I can help you contain it." I remained suspicious, though I did accept his offer. If I was more wary, I would not have. But I was in need of help at the time. And any help would go a long way. He stood, finishing his drink before he started off. But before he left, he turned back to me. "Well? Shall we be going?" I hastily stood, almost falling from the seat and strode over to him, then we both made our exit. Though on the way, I sped up a bit, catching something in the corner of my eye. Something Shade had seen, and warned me about. The two figures from before, one with a hood and the other with a face mask.

* * *

We both made it out safe, which was good news. Although I was still wary of the kestrel, it would have been better than facing those other two. At least, that's what I believed at the time.

The chestnut bird led me to a small shelter, made of several metal sheets. To anyone on the outside, it looked like a small box. But it was at the entrance to an alley, so it went a distance through, with other metal sheets covering it. Inside, it was larger than I had at first expected it to be. The door blended in perfectly with the front wall, and when closed it was almost invisible. He had a small couch, most likely from a doll set, and a phone across from it on a charging station. The cord led to a small opening in the roof, where a tiny solar panel rested. At the other end, there was a bed, once again looking like it was taken from a doll set, and a dartboard across from it. Most of the stuff looked like it had been scavenged. It made a great hideout, but that made me wonder, if it was truly a hideout, what was he hiding from.

He laid himself onto his bed as I was inspecting his home, and next thing I heard was a metallic ping. I turned around to find a dart in the dart board. But the thing about it was that it looked nothing like a dart. It was more like a feather. He caught my curious stare and spoke up.

"I modified malted feathers to make darts. It is an excellent way to recycle them, instead of having them make a mess." I nodded in agreement and walked over to him until I was standing by the bedside.

"So you said you could help me?" He nodded, and swung his legs over the side to stand himself up.

"Follow me." I followed him to where there was a small mat in the center of the floor. "Tell me, have you heard of meditation?" I nodded slowly. "Then show me." I did as instructed and sat down, slowing my breathing. And so began my training on how to contain the darkness inside.

"What is your name?" I asked. he answered with no pause.

"Kass. Now focus." I went back to meditation, thinking of why such a simple bird like Kass would help me. Little did I know was that there was more to Kass than meets the eye. And those secrets he held were why he chose to help.


	7. Welcome To The Team

**I just realized this chapter was missing. So hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

I had been sleeping peacefully after the past three weeks of training. Not a day went by where I had any break, with at least five sessions per day, learning about self control and occasionally training in the practice of martial arts. I surprised myself, since I had not once revealed my power. Shade had not even tried to come out, but he still haunted my dreams. Such as the dream I was having before the Kestrel woke me up, and quite rudely. As in, flipping the bed. I was given such a fright, I thought that I would have blacked out, and then come back to reality to find him dead by the demon inside.

I started when I found myself and the bed turning over, gasping from fright as I stood up frantically, looking around for the attacker. I found Kass standing there with an amused look on his face. I glared at him for a second, and sighed, exhausted from his constant teachings.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, stuttering ever so slightly, if at all. He ignored my question and went to his pack. It was a small backpack, leaning against the walls of the small makeshift house. He sifted through it until he found what he was searching for. A pair of small radios. He tossed one to me, and I caught it, almost dropping it clumsily.

"It's time to let you have a break. That's so you can contact me." I couldn't believe it. He was going to give me a break? I must have skipped a breath, and immediately I was heading to the door. Then he spoke again. "But I'm coming with you." Those words stopped me in my tracks. Now I had to deal with him coming along. All I wanted was to have some time alone, even it was physically impossible with Shade being around all the time.

I sighed, and waited at the door for him. He spent a long time gathering supplies, as if he were preparing for some disaster to happen. I was dumbfounded to find him only carrying a couple of things, taking in the fact he had spent almost five whole minutes searching for things around the home. He had a lot of stuff in his home, most of which I hadn't noticed the first time I had arrived. On him, he had a utility belt around his waist with several items on it. On his talons he had brown gloves covering them. He had a pair of glasses over his eyes, and from next to the door, he retrieved a brown cloak. I really found it to be looking odd, but I'd seen enough off things to think this was common. I had to expect that we would be heading into trouble, because of his gear, and that instilled fear in me.

" _Don't be such a wuss, kid"_ I heard. At first, I thought it was Kass. but he was busy playing with his gear. _"What, you not used to me no more? Well that makes me feel loved"_ the voice inside hissed sarcastically. I mentally scowled at it.

 _"You better stay out of this"_ I growled back, in my mind.

 _"No worries with me. I won't intervene. Unless you need me. Just say so, and I'm out...Besides, I can't beat your mind now. You've kept me back this long, haven't you?"_ I'm not sure why, but I could have sworn he snickered at the end.

 _"I mean it_ " I received no reply, but I felt his feelings, which were carefree. Kass pushed the door open, and we both went through. The light of the sun burned into my eyes, being absent for the past weeks of training. I had to raise my wing to the glowing orb in the sky, blotting out the sun from my sight with only a bit seeping through the feathers of my green wings.

"Why did you never give me a break?" I mumbled, unsure if Kass had heard me. If he had, then he chose to ignore. I looked to where he was to find him gone, and panicked slightly before finding him down the street. There were people walking everywhere, almost stepping on me. For some reason, the kestrel did not choose to fly, but instead walk. I wasn't sure what to make of it, so I just followed along, narrowly dodging the human's feet and the shoes they wore. If I was to be stepped on, whoever does step on me would probably fall over due to surprise from my pained squawk that I would make.

Though once we cleared the crowd, Kass spread his wings and took flight. His speed was like nothing I had seen, and by the time I had lifted from the ground, he was several blocks down. At least he had the decency of going in a straight line and stopping to look back at me. I soon reached him, huffing and puffing from exhaustion. If I never had to use my wings in those training sessions, I would have caught up in no time.

"It seems that we must work on your stamina next, as well as durability to travel long distances." I had moved my head up to scowl at him, but he had turned around and gone ahead by the time I had looked up. For every one of my wing beats, there was a wave of exhaustion that came over me. I soon found myself trying to catch my breath again, and luckily he had stopped, this time landing on a roof made of tin sheets.

"Where are we going?" I finally asked. All he did was give me a sideways glance, then looked down to a market below. I knew then that this was our destination. Kass leapt from the roof and dived down, landing neatly on the ground effortlessly. Me, on the other hand, almost ended up in a large melon on a stall behind him. No matter how hard I tried, I was still tired. I thought I had heard Shade make some witty comment, but I had managed to block out his voice, thanks to Kass's discipline training.

"We are here." He started towards a stall with a large black cloth draped over the top of it, dropping over all the sides. He went behind it, and I followed to find him holding it up for me. I arched forward, almost losing balance and stumbled in. I quickly corrected myself, acting as if nothing happened. But it was a bit too late for that, as I heard a snicker ahead of me. In the center of the floor was a small block with three others around it.

To the right was a female Hyacinth macaw, who was oddly enough a bit on the short side. She had one pearly blue eye, with the other being a dark red. Her plumage was dark blue, with bright yellow markings. In the center was a tall Harpy Eagle. He had dark brown eyes and a muscular build, with several shades of feathers covering it. His upper body was a slate black, with a pale grey head and a white underside. And to the left was a Chestnut Woodpecker. He had emerald green eyes, and scratches lining his beak. His body was a chestnut brown, with his rump, flanks and the rest of his underside being yellow. There were several scars on his face, one just below his eye and another long one going from the back of his head to back of his beak, curving around. Out of all of them, he looked the most menacing.

Kass edged me forward, almost forcing me to take a seat. I was seated between him and the Hyacinth, with him being next to the menacing woodpecker. It was quite an odd bunch, I mean, who knew woodpeckers could be scary? Not me, yet here I was, constantly eyeing the creepy bird out of fear.

"My friends" Kass began, looking back and forth between the other members at the table. They stared to him attentively, while I had a confused look on my face. "We have found the one who can help us against our enemy. This young gentlemen," he gestured to me with both open wings "can help us. We now have our fifth member." My eyes shot to him, filled with utter shock and confusion. I hadn't even consented to joining him!

"You expect this _boy_ to help us?" the woodpecker queried with a hissing tone. Even though he was agreeing with me somewhat, he was still scary. "He looks as if he can barely lift an apple!" he added. I was rather insulted, but it seemed that Kass was more so. His face was suddenly twisted with anger.

"Hold your tongue if you cannot use it wisely! I have trained him, and I am sure he can lift two if he wished to!" The woodpeckers beak snapped shut, glancing away with a dark expression upon his features. Kass turned back to the others, calm in an instant. "Now, to continue. For so long, have we been searching for him. For so long, have we been searching for the one that wields dark powers and becomes one with shadow." I froze as he spoke those words. How did he know? He gave his answer right away, obviously noticing my sudden movement. "Yes, we know of your powers. I knew as soon as I looked upon you. And now, we can achieve the greatness we have been searching for!" He stood up, with the others rising with him. "Soon, our enemy shall know what defeat is! To freedom!"

"To freedom!" The others but the eagle chanted, raising their clenched wings. I continued to sit there, staring with a blank expression, confusion swirling in my eyes. They're chanting was soon interrupted as we heard footsteps outside.

"How did they find us?" the Hyacinth exclaimed, her face filled with terror. The others launched themselves from their seats, and just in time as a group of attackers barged in. They were armed with an assortment of blades.

"Take them all!" the leader ordered, then proceeded to point his blade towards me. "The master wants him alive." I gulped, now standing and facing him, my eyes fixed on his icy gaze. There was a small moment of silence, everyone being still. Then, all that changed in a second.

The woodpecker was the first to make a move. He charged forward, his wings changing in an instant. They became a glistening steel, the feathers merging into one to form two thin blades. He lurched towards his closest target, and with a quick cross swing, he sliced his victim into two halves. Next was Kass, throwing his wings into the air, then swinging them forward. I was amazed by the mystic purple glow that came from the feathers that flew across the room. Upon contact, they exploded in an array of lights, going off simultaneously. As the bodies fell, smoke rose from the contact point. The eagle flipped the table over me, forcing me to duck. And a good thing too, or otherwise my head would have gone flying from a bullet by his dual pistols. The Hyacinth somehow appeared behind the leader, snapping his neck with one fluent motion. And that was it. In those few mere seconds, not a single attacker got a hit on any of us.

"I vote we scram" the woodpecker suggested.

"I second that." With that, we left in a hurry, leaving the mess behind.


	8. Dance Of Blades

We arrived at the safe house after flying for who knows how long, dodging cars and through buildings. I was filled with fear from top to bottom, shaking all over. Even in the site of all the danger, I had managed to keep Shade back. But for how long? That was the big question I was thinking as soon as I came through that door. After came three of the other members, the eagle coming in last with his back to us and his weapons raised. The woodpecker closed the door behind him, then opened a small hatch towards the top of the door. His eyes watched closely through it, keeping a close eye on the alley outside. Kass sat me down onto a chair nearby, standing before me.

"W-what was that?!" I gasped, still trying to make sense of things. Nothing that had happened since I arrived here was as confusing, nor terrifying as this.

"That was the enemy ambushing us" Kass explained, turning towards the avians at the door. "Did they follow?" The woodpecker shook his head, answering his question for him.

"No sign of any of them. And a lucky thing, too. That was too close for comfort. But we've had worse." My brows raised in surprise. What did he mean that they had had worse? What could be worse then being attacked by a band of blade-wielding maniacs? Nothing I could think of, that was for sure. "So, you feeling lucky yet, kid?" It took a few seconds to notice everyone's gazes were fixed on me, all studying me closely.

"Leave him be, you big bully" the Hyacinth calmly spoke with a mocking tone added to it, sending a somewhat smug grin at me.

"We should introduce ourselves to our new member. As you know, I am Kass" he said to me, then gestured to each of the others as he announced their names. "That is Alice," the Hyacinth winked at me, sending a sudden tingle through my body. "That there is Blade, and the eagle there is Point Blank." I gave a confused raised brow to him, then to the eagle, then back to Kass. "He can't talk, so we made one up." I only stared in confusion, my face staying the same way for a while. I couldn't stop the question from flying out, nor did I even try.

"Who are you people?!" Blade rolled his eyes, turning back to the thin hatch. Before anyone could talk, he hushed everyone.

"Got someone going by" his quiet whisper filled the room, followed by an eerie silence, as if the room was holding it's breath. It lasted for at least half a minute before he gave everyone the all clear. Kass began as if nothing had happened, like he had already been speaking.

"We are a small group who works against their employer. Someone who we've all had connections to, and had been hired by him as assassins. That explains to you about how we are highly trained, and did what you saw. And with all of us, our last mission forced us away from him, to turn on him. Now, we are trying to stop him from continuing his devious ways. And with your help, we can achieve that...With your help, we can end him" he explained, pointing with the index feather of his right wing towards an image on the dartboard of a silhouette, with only the top half of the body visible. One of the feathers Kass used on the board was stuck into the middle of where it's face would be. The curiosity inside began to bubble up, but I knew it wasn't me.

 _"Sounds interesting. We kill people, and we do it for a good cause. It's a win-win for both of us. Let's give it a try"_ the little voice suggested.

 _"No, it is not. Now stay out of this."_ I blocked him out the best I could, focusing more on the reality outside of my mind.

"So, are you in, or out, cutie?" Alice asked with a smile that seemingly drew me in. I glanced to each of them with an unsure look.

"I..." A sigh escaped my beak, and after some deep thinking, I decided. "Fine. But I'm not comfortable killing" I quickly added. Alice shrugged.

"That's too bad. Because that's kind of our job. I mean, we all had to get out of our own comfort zones. So why don't you give it a try?" I thought on it, but not for too long.

"He needs to think long and hard about this. Perhaps over some rest?" Kass looked over to me questionably, and I shrugged, then laid back onto the bed I sat on. It wasn't too long until I nodded off to sleep, going into the realm of dreams.

* * *

By night, everyone appeared to be at rest. Well, everyone but me. In secret, I had stayed awake. Sure, I felt a bit impatient to make my move, but I had to wait for night to come. And when it came, I made it. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stood up, glancing back and forth between the other avians inside. They were spread about the room, so it was slightly challenging to watch them all. The door was only right across the room, and I knew I was light on my feet. So how hard could it have been?

Every step earned a wince, afraid of the ground creaking. It was a stupid thought, since the ground was concrete, but I didn't think about that. My eyes were scanning the floor ahead of me for objects, as well as watching the others. I finally reached the door without making a sound. I sighed, then reached my hand towards the door, about to turn it and make my way out-

 _"Can you be faster next time!"_ Shade shouted in my head, making me jump. I almost fell over on my side, my wing flying out and grabbing the handle of the door. I turned my head, eyes wide with fear with my heart in my throat. Surprisingly, no one woke up. Seeing I was in the clear, I mentally scolded the voice inside, forgetting not to speak aloud, which surprisingly still left them still asleep.

"Don't you dare _ever_ do that again. You hear me?" He snickered, then shut up entirely. I pushed down on the handle, then pulled it back. Poking my head out through the door into the darkness outside, I looked around for any movement. There was nothing, so I took my chance, and darted outside, closing the door behind me with a soft thud.

All was quiet outside. Not even the chirp of a cricket. For some reason, that was worrying.

 _"I don't like this. Watch my back, okay?"_ Shade took no time to answer, his reply quick.

 _"You can count on me, boss."_ I took it slow through the streets, not knowing of what was to come. But I soon saw why it was all quiet as I rounded a corner.

In the middle of the street, a group of armored birds had surrounded a group of macaws, most likely a family. The children were held against their will, and the mother was having a picture shoved in her face. The father was laying on the ground, his face in the dirt.

"Have you seen them?" the leader asked calmly.

"I don't know!" the mother cried.

"Don't lie to us!" the leader snapped, slapping at her face. "Perhaps she will answer us when her children's lives are in danger." One of the armored birds grinned, and revealed a small blade. Inside, I felt something snap. In an instant, Shade had taken over. I watched from inside my mind as he became one with the shadows, closing distance between us and them. And once he was right behind the armed target, his raised his wings to it's head and one fluent motion, made a snap as he twisted it's neck. It fell to the side, it's eyes filled with sudden shock. As were the others. Though it didn't last long. In a mere second, they all drew their blades. Shade flung the blade at his talons up to his wings and grabbed hold of the hilt, readying himself for a fight. The one on our left was the first to attack, making a downward swing at us with both wings. We held our blade up and countered, then slid it across the attacker's blade, the tip of ours reaching the bird's neck. His own wings flew to his neck, collapsing on his side. With precise precision and unnatural speed, we darted to our next target, showing no mercy. He was gone in a single strike across the chest. Now only two remained. Their leader stood firm, and ordered his last lackey upon us. He charged, and ran past us without a head. The leader took one step forward, readying himself by lowering his blade on an angle towards us.

"You will not survive this night." A smirk appeared on our face. A _very_ grim look towards our opponent. "We will find you and all of your accomplices."

"I don't see that happening" Shade's dark voice argued, flipping our own blade backwards. Time appeared to stand still, then in happened in a flash. First, the leader was in front of us. And now, he was behind us, in a heap. Our blade was tossed to the side, and I then regained control. Normally, I felt shaky and unnerved after changing back. But this time, I was unfazed by the blood, and the death I had delivered. Because I believed they deserved it. Though that changed when I turned to the family to find terror all over their bodies. They had seen the monster inside. So I ran.

I continued to run, not looking back, until I almost ran into someone familiar.

"I saw you out there" Kass said, staring down at me with a blank expression. And he soon had a smug grin. "You fight for what we fight for. So I shall ask again...will you join us?" I was hesitant, and this time I nodded. And I meant it.

"But once we're done, I'm out."

* * *

 **And so we see a moment of change in Cody. Although the moment was short, he is on his way to having the dark personality he has (no pun intended)**


	9. Ambush

Over time, we had made several strikes against our enemy. Kass led us to victory every time, and I was favored by them all. Well, all except Blade. For some reason, he envied me. Everything went well every time. But all the while, I knew I was losing myself. Every time I unleashed Shade, I began to enjoy it more and more. I was no longer afraid of seeing death and blood. It had now become an every day thing. And I had no scars, which was odd. Perhaps when the body is in Shade's control, I cannot be hurt. Or maybe I do, but he feels none. And maybe, just maybe, he heals faster than a normal being. Sometimes, I thought that maybe I could be a super hero. But then I remembered that families face, and came to the realization that I was just some monster from a child's nightmares. In a way, I was Frankenstein's monster. Just misunderstood. No one wants to see what lies beneath the dark form of Shade, being too afraid to come close to it at all. I mean, who would want to come close to something that looks something like a demon from the world beneath.

As I worked with them, I began to know the others more and more. None of them had any relations except for two things: they were all assassins and were all working for their enemy. They all had grudges against them, and they would do anything to get rid of them. I fought with them against this enemy of ours, yet I knew nothing of him. I did not even know his name, or what he looked like. Only the shape from his silhouette on that photo, full of holes from the dart-like feathers.

I sat up on the bed owned by me at the time. Not only had I changed, but so had our safe house. We made it go further down the alley, and added a few more beds, as well as other pieces of furniture. We even added a hatch on the roof for quick exits, and another exit at the back of the home. Across from my bed was Kass's, and on my right was Blade's. On his right was Alice, and across from him was Point Blank. All but Blade's bed was empty. The others had left earlier that morning to collect some supplies, me and Mr. Envious Woodpecker. He never took his jealous eyes from me. Seriously, what was his problem?

 _"You should poke his eyes out. You know you want too"_ Shade egged me on, obviously wanting to have some action. But I wasn't in the mood. When this started, I may have out right said no, scolding him. But it had become a common thing, and I just decided to ignore him. _Most_ of the time.

 _"I'd rather not start trouble with him. Besides, if he wants to stare, he can stare. Doesn't bother me. Just makes him look more weird."_ As if the wood pecker had read my thoughts, he turned away. But in the next second, I too turned my head to the door to see it swing open, revealing the rest of the team.

"We're back!" Alice announced with a sing-song tone.

"That's plainly obvious" I stated, rolling my eyes. I caught a glimpse of her winking at me as I did. Now that I counted as weird. She was always doing that from time to time. Always gave me the shivers, and not in a good way.

 _"Why does she have to do that?"_

 _"Maybe she likes you. Ooooh!"_ I couldn't help but blush, and mentally punched that annoying voice. And it worked, as I heard a quiet groan. He may be painless on the outside, but inside, he's as soft as a puppy's fur. But the thing was, if he got hurt, so did I.

 _"Don't make me come up there and give you more."_ He knew I didn't mean it, but it shut him up anyway. Maybe because he just liked poking fun, than disappearing, scheming his next plan for more fun. I watched as Kass dumped a sack on the ground at the foot of my bed. I crawled to that end, peeking over while holding myself up with my wings. It was bulging, but tightly sealed.

"Your new gear's in there." I reached down with a talon and sliced at the top, revealing the contents. There was a utility belt, a combat knife and a small hand gun, as well as a mask.

"What's all this for?" I asked. still examining the equipment.

"Our mission. Tonight. We are hitting the top of the infrastructure." I looked up, my eyes almost bulging. Not with fright, but excitement and relief. We were finally going to end this. "So gear up. We are heading out in two hours. Get all the rest needed up, and fill up on food and water. I do not want to dragging you back because of your lack of energy." I nodded and grabbed a snack bar they had brought with them. It was finished in a few bites, and I washed it down with some water. After, I geared up, and sat patiently, wishing the day would go faster.

* * *

Night arrived moments later. We were all waiting patiently, and once we saw lights going out in houses along the street, we made our move. Kass was first, followed by the rest in single file. All of us were geared up, but I had left the gun behind, with Shade favoring the blade. In truth, I did too. It was much more silent, and required you to get close, so there was almost no chance of missing our target in combat.

We stuck to the shadows, hugging the walls along the streets. Everyone but me had face masks from bandannas, only showing the top half of their heads, including their dark eyes.

 _"Look at us! Sneaking around like warriors of the night! Just where we-"_

 _"Don't. We don't belong here, and I don't plan on staying. Let's just get this over with, okay?"_ There was a short silence from the voice inside, then some grumbling. I took that as an agreement, and left it at that. Though during the very short chat, I had lingered behind, and caught Alice looking back.

"Hey, shadow-boy. You coming or what?" I nodded and quickened the pace, catching up in a moment's notice. None of the others had stopped, so we went on like nothing happened. A few streets more, and Kass halted us. I almost walked into Alice's back, stopping myself right before her, being close enough to breathe down her neck, so I backed up a couple of steps.

"We are here" Kass whispered to us, then signaled for the group to move forward. We did so at a hurried pace, and that's when I caught a glimpse of our target's structure.

On the outside, it looked like one of the other buildings around, save for a few differences. There was a wall too tall for us to get over with a single jump. A couple of floors from the top, there was a small circular window, like from a clock tower. On one side of the wall, there was a steel barred gate. At the front stood a couple of guards, with long blades slinged over their backs and over their cloaks. They all looked quite menacing, but they were definitely not enough for us. And yet, going through the front door wasn't our plan.

We gathered at one of the side walls, and Kass claimed a grappling hook from his belt. We couldn't fly over, or we'd risk getting shot down, if they had any aerial defenses. The hook was loaded into a small launcher, the tip poking out of the barrel. He lifted it up towards the top of the wall, and fired. There was a quiet whisp of air as it flew up to the top of the wall, followed by a metallic clank of the hook hitting the wall. He tugged on the rope attached to it. When it stayed where it was, he began his climb. Point Blank had his weapons drawn, watching the area around us. He would not let a single enemy through. Once Kass reached the top, he shook the rope. Next was Blade, then Alice, then me and Point Blank last.

"Arm yourselves" Kass ordered with a quiet voice. We all drew our weapons. He glanced back, and seeing us all armed, he moved on with us following along the top of the wall. Surprisingly, there were no guards patrolling along the wall.

We stopped at an intersection in the wall, one of the paths leading into the building. We trailed along it until we reached an armored door.

"How do we get through?" I asked, before finding everyone looking at me. "What?"

"We know what you are capable of. You can do this." I looked back, confused. That was until a little voice helped me.

 _"Oh, right. We can go through walls, too."_ This time, I didn't manage to keep my feelings of surprise inside.

"I can do what?!" Shade didn't respond as I went on. "Why didn't you tell me before?" Once again, no answer. So I gave up asking and allowed him permission to take over. In a moment's notice, my color changed to shadowy black. "Let's do this." We walked to the door, and began pushing our body against it. To get through, we had to go transparent, and we seeped right through, appearing on the other side. We unlocked the door from the other side, and pulled it open. "Welcome to enemy HQ. Please, enjoy your stay" Shade spoke in a mockful tone of a hotel worker, arching our back forward with a wing to the chest. The others went by without a word, except for the Hyacinth.

"Why, thank you. Such a gentleman" Alice commented, playing along.

"We have no time for joking around" Kass somewhat scolded. "We must move on." We all moved on, until reaching a large hall. Once again, no guards. But there was a table across the hall, with a chair's back to us.

"Welcome, Kass. You brought him, I see."

"Yes, I did." I was confused as to why Kass was talking to whoever it was, considering it must have been the enemy. "Sorry for this, but it must be done." Before I could ask what he meant, I felt something sharp sting, and turned to find Alice holding a syringe.

"Sweet dreams, dark prince." In a matter of seconds, I was out in the dark, stuck with Shade in my mind.


	10. Escape

At first, my vision was blurred. My head was thumping from the syringe, whatever it was. But it also hurt from Shade's constant talking. If he had talked anymore, I would have probably gone insane. Then again, I didn't even know if I was insane already!

It took time, but my eyes soon adjusted to the darkness around me, and I found myself being dragged down a dark hall by two silhouettes. From the look of my wings and the rest of my plumage that was in my view, I was in a rough condition. How that happened, I had no idea. My eyes may not have adjusted enough to see the faces of my captors, but I did see a dimly lit room ahead. The door was barred, with barred walls on either side. So there was not much to see inside.

"W..where am I?" I heard a weak voice ask. I looked around, searching for who had spoken. Soon, I discovered that the voice had come from me.

"Your new home" one of the guards answered. They pulled me forward to the room, and one of them opened the door before throwing me inside. I hit the ground hard, and flipped myself over to see my captors. In the flight, I saw both of their faces. One, I did not recognize, but the other was all too familiar. I had seen it every morning I had been with Kass and his team. The wood pecker, Blade.

"You like it? I thought you might. It must be comfortable for you, right?" I glared back, gritting my beak. "You know what? You don't deserve such power. If anyone should have had it, it should have been me. But instead, it goes to some weak, lonely son of a-"

"Blade!" The wood pecker froze, his beak hanging on the start of the last word before turning. "That is enough. Leave, now." Blade looked back at me with a steeled glaze. "I said leave. Now!" Kass ordered again, obviously becoming impatient. Blade turned away, then walked away with the other guard following him. Kass watched him closely until he was gone, then turned back to me with a blank expression.

"How could you side with our enemy? We've killed so many of them!" A low chuckle came from the kestrel.

"So powerful, yet naive." He began pacing back and forth along the wall of bars. "How can you not see it already? We never left the service of our leader. And those we killed were expendable. _You_ were the mission all along." My eyes grew with shock and surprise. Everything that had happened was all to get me with them. To earn their trust. The whole time, they had been the ones they called the enemy.

"Why do you want me?" I asked, keeping my glare with his stare.

"Are you blind? It is not you we want. The power inside you belongs to _us_ " he explained, the final word ending in a hiss. I understood then. He wanted Shade, the creature inside me. And the old me would have given it up without hesitation. But the new me would never give up such power to a band of villains like them. So I gave him my answer with one, stern word.

"No." Kass's stare hardened, but only for a second. He seemed to accept my decision.

"Very well. We have over means of getting what we want." He turned and left without another word, being replaced by the other guard that had been with Blade. I sat there in the middle of the cell in despair. Occasionally, I'd look to the outside of it, devising a plan. And soon, it hit me. Well, more like hit Shade.

 _"Let me do the talking. I can get us out of this."_ I was hesitant at first, but it didn't take too long to see his plan.

 _"Go ahead."_

"Hey, you there! Guard!" The guard did not turn, but he did grumble something, so I knew he could hear Shade. "What's someone like you doin in a position like this?" Now that got the guard's attention. "I mean, you look more like the leader type. Strong and authoritative. Someone who should be leading guards, not being one himself." He glanced back. I spotted a small grin. Now I knew I was getting to him.

"Ya think so? I mean, I guess I got some muscles ere and dere" he replied, rolling his shoulders around a bit. Now Shade took this as his chance.

"Then again, I guess Blade is stronger. And very bold, which a leader should be."

"Now just a minute dere! I am quite bold myself!" Our eyes rolled in amusement.

"Oh, sure you are. And I'm a pig that can fly" Shade replied with a smirk. "If you're so bold and strong, then come and show me." The guard turned, his face filled with anger. Surprisingly, our plan had worked.

"With pleasure." He pulled out the keys to the door and unlocked the cell door. With one wing, he pulled it open and stepped inside. We gave him no chance and seized the upper hand, surging forward with unimaginable speed. With one swift movement, he went flying into the bars head-first. He slid to the ground with his head upright against the bars.

"Well, that was easy" Shade stated with a hiss. We pulled the door closed and locked it. Then, he pulled them from the door. "He won't be needing these no more" he spoke, spinning them around.

 _"Hey. Can I have my mouth back, please?"_

"Oh. Right." In a second, my beak came back under my control. I took a much-needed breath, glancing back at the cell. The guard was still unconscious. With Shade's strength, he probably killed him.

"Let's go this way" I said aloud, pointing towards the stairs Kass had gone up at the end of the hall. "I want to show that traitor what I think of him right now." Shade snickered quietly, agreeing with me. I knew he obviously wanted revenge as well. Kass and the others had betrayed us.

 _"Let's give em what they deserve."_ I took off up the stairs, catching sight of two figures at the door opposite the long cement room at the top of the stairs. Point Blank and Blade.

"You two must be quite surprised. Especially you, Woody Woodpecker. You never really saw much in me." I continued on, turning my gaze onto the eagle beside him. "And you, well you must be speechless...oh wait, you always were!" I chuckled at my little joke, earning a glare of hate. There was a pause of silence, then Blade's wings turned to steel.

"Let's take of this hopeless kid." Point Blank nodded, then drew his two weapons, firing simultaneously. I let Shade take over as soon as it happened, and he rolled us out of the way.

"Finally, someone worth my time." We lurched forward, dodging from side to side as bullets flew past. Once the distance had been closed enough, we launched ourselves at the eagle. But Blade was there first, blocking our path with the flat side of his wing. We hit it hard, falling onto our back. Blade's wing came down towards us, and we rolled to the side, barely missing it and a bullet. We stood up, ducking as Blade's other wing slashed above my head. Now, we took our chance and darted past, wrapping my wings around the back of the eagle's head. And just in time, as Blade launched his steel wing towards me, not seeing Point Blank until it was too late. The wood pecker's blade went straight through his chest, but didn't go through the whole way. It was too late to save him, and the same went for Blade as we grabbed one of Point Blank's weapons, held it to Blade's head and fired. His death was like the flash of the gun. It was sudden.

"Guess you weren't my time after all." Shade tossed the weapon to it's owner's side, into the pool of blood. Then, I opened the door and continued to trudge on. This place must have been small, cause on the other side we found Alice. We thought about charging her, but I had something better in mind. And Shade shared the idea. We went into the shadow's, and went right behind her before going back into our solid form and wrapping a wing around her beak.

"You should never have betrayed us. But, we did like you. So here's the deal: We let you live, but if we ever see you again, you're dead. Got it?" We felt her nod. "Good. Oh, but we do have to get payback for the syringe. So..." With our other wing, we slammed it against her head, knocking her out cold. "Once again, easy."

We went on through the structure until we found a door I recognized. It was the large door that led to the large hall. And in front of it was Kass and his leader, talking. It seemed we had interrupted them,as they turned to face us.

"It seems we have an unwelcome visitor. Deal with him, Kass." Kass nodded. "Yes, Lord Galon." The kestrel turned to me, covering his leader as the leader left through the door, looking completely calm. We had our most hateful stare towards the avian.

"I knew this would come. You have come a long way, boy."

"Glad you knew your death would be coming so soon, _traitor_." Even though Kass's face remained calm, I knew he was ready to fight. His feathers on his wings began to glow a bright purple. Without warning, he swung them forward, sending them flying towards me. We went into our shadow form, the feathers going right through us and hitting a wall behind us, leaving singe marks. We darted forward, going back to our solid form and swinging a punch at him. He dodged, grabbing it and countering with an upper-cut that sent us flying back.

"You cannot defeat me so easily, for I never taught you everything."

"How can I believe anything you taught me" I countered, clenching the ends of my wings. "For all I know, everything you have told me was a lie." I launched myself at him again, hitting him in the face this time. But it didn't catch him off guard, because as it turned out I had missed, as he had ducked and flipped himself backwards, one of his talons hitting the underneath of my beak and sending me flying back once more.

"Face it. You have lost." We looked up, but he did not see despair. No, instead he saw hope with a smirk. And in his eyes, we saw horror for the first time in them.

* * *

Lord Galon sat on his throne, watching through the circular window. He heard the door open, and he turned his chair to see a bruised Kass.

"Is it done?" The kestrel nodded and approached. "Good. Very good. Now, we can harvest the power." Galon rotated the throne once more back to the window. However, what he did not know was that this was not Kass. Once he turned again after hearing something fall, he found Kass on the ground, lifeless. And standing before the lord was us, a shade of black covering us like the shadow we were. We grabbed him by the neck and hurled him towards the window. He bounced off, lying on his side. We held his wings and pulled back until there was a snap, then held him high by the neck.

"You should never have taken me. You should never have sent Kass and the others. You should never have tried to _kill me_." We drew my face closer to his until all he could see was our dark red eyes. "And now, we get our revenge." Before he could reply, we tossed him out the window. He smashed through the glass, screaming as he fell. And then, it stopped with a thud. Then, we changed back to my normal form. "No one fights us and gets away with it." I turned when I heard voices in the distance.

 _"Time to go."_

 _"I was thinking the same thing, buddy. Let's get out of here."_ I dived for the window, and took flight into the night sky, blending in as Shade took control.


	11. Joining The Army

I looked up from the drink before me, coming back to reality. It was a usual thing I did to make sure this was all real by pretend to talk to someone, but in my head, and I would tell that imaginary being my story. It had been several years since then, and time had changed me. I had become more distant for society, and if I ever was brought into a conversation, I wouldn't be acting withdrawn. Instead, I would be sarcastic, with a touch of rudeness. Thanks to the influence of Shade. That normally sent them away. And sometimes, they never even approached. probably because of how rough I looked, and maybe the scar over my eye helped. Not much to tell on how I got that.

The reason I was at this bar, in the open was because I was celebrating. For today was the anniversary of the day _it_ happened. The day Shade came to me. And ever since I escaped from Lord Galon, I had been searching for something that could rid Shade from my body. He agreed, since he would also be free, no longer trapped inside another. I didn't care what he did, as long as he was gone from me. But alas, I had no such luck. I had searched around and legends, and occasionally turned to science. And on a rare occasion, I turned to ending my life. But of course, that never worked. Be it by bullet or by knife, Shade was always there to patch me up, or he'd take over before I ended both of us. I may have a demon inside me, but I was still mortal. And if I die, then he goes down with me. But every time I searched for an answer, it either does not exist or the remainder of Galon's cult was already there. I had been on the run from there, and they seemed to always chase me away.

Today, I turned to alcohol. It wasn't my first time, though when I did drink, it was a small consumption. But today was different. Because not only did today mark the date of Shade's arrival, but also the death of my only friend on this Earth.

"This is to you, Caitlin." I raised my glass, then tipped it up and poured all the horrible tasting substance down my throat. I placed it back down with a satisfied grunt, staring at it on the bar. At that moment, it all came back to me. The pain, the suffering. The house burning down. All the images of my life came back to me, flashing before my eyes. Another gulp of another glass rid me of them.

As I drank this one, however, I felt a presence to my left. I was ready for a fight, thinking a warning to Shade. He was ready too. In a second, I would transform if they made a move. I glanced from the corner of my eye to catch a glimpse of a hooded figure. I could see nothing that would tell me anything on who this figure was. Perhaps they were on of Galon's minions, or a mercenary hired by their group. Or maybe it was just some random. Whichever it was, they would fall if they dared to touch me. But they didn't seem to acknowledge me. Or so I thought.

"I mean no harm to you" a feminine voice sounded. I carefully inspected around, and when I found no one else nearby, I came to the conclusion it had come from the figure. And I was right. "I come in need of your help." Just what I needed. Someone wanting my help.

"Well, if you want help, then turn the other way. Cause I'm quite happy where I am." I gulped another glass down, then looked at it as I set it on the bar. Unlike many others, my tolerance for alcohol was very, very high. "I'm not interested in saving a relative of yours, or getting back some money that got taken."

"The matter I need help with is much more larger than that. I can assure you that it is certainly a challenge for someone with skills such as yours." My left brow arched questionably.

"I don't know what you mean by that. Now leave me alone." I began to stand, but was halted when the figure grabbed my left wing with her own. From underneath the sleeve came green feathers, but not like ones I had seen before. I looked up from her wing to finally see her face. "I've never seen any bird like you before. Then again, I haven't seen many species of birds before."

"I know you haven't, because we are few. I doubt you have heard of my race. For all we are now are myths and legends. Much like what exists in you." Now she was getting to the touchy subject. She knew something that I'd rather her not know about. My eyes narrowed towards her, hiding the surprise I had.

"Let. Go. Or you'll regret it." Her face showed no sign of fear, which was slightly worrying.

"If I would regret it, I wouldn't have done it in the first place. I've faced beings much more powerful than you" she stated knowingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Then obviously, you have no idea what I am. Now, I won't ask again. _Let me go or I will cause harm_ " I threatened in a hissing tone. This time, she obliged. But she did not turn away.

"Please. Many people are in danger." I stood from my seat and turned away, then began walking without a care in the world. "We can help you with your condition." With those words, I froze. I knew that many have told me that exact line, or something of the same meaning. And yet still, I gave her my full attention. "We need you help, to save the world." I hesitated over it.

 _"Sounds like something big. Should we give it a shot?"_ I thought over it for a short while, then turned back with a smirk, my eyes glowing with a red glow.

"Count us in."

* * *

 **And so ends my OC's origin story, and how he came to join the Rio Army. I'm sure those who are part of the Rio army know who the green feathered figure was. So that is all, and see you all next time...**

 **Oh, I almost forgot. Of course, with Alex's permission, I'm planning on making one short story based on Cody/Shade after Armageddon. And I'd like to ask you Rio Army members if you would like to join. My conditions: I'm only planning on three, so the first three to get back are in. But only the first will be in multiple parts, while the other two are in one action-packed chapter. So now, see you all next time, and I hope to have some other members in the story. :)**


End file.
